The oldest companies in the world

You can’t imagine how many of the world’s oldest companies are still in business today. For example, a pharmacy in Tallinn, a bank in Italy, a newspaper in Sweden, a hotel in Japan and many more. Find out more about some of the best-known companies in this article.

Hotel in Japan

Until 2011, the Hoshi Hotel in Japan was considered the oldest hotel in the world. It appeared in Komatsu in 717 AD. For 13 centuries the hotel has been offering its customers accommodation close to hot springs. The building was awarded the title of “The Oldest Hotel” in 1994. It was even entered in the Guinness Book of World Records. After that the hotel joined the Enoch Club, which unites companies that are over two hundred years old. Unfortunately it so happened that in 2011 the decision was revised and the Guinness Book of World Records included the hotel called “Nishiyama”, which was located in the village of Hakawa (central Japan). The hotel was established in 705 AD.

Bank in Italy

Monte dei Paschi Bank opened in 1477. That’s 120 years earlier than its neighbour in the list of the world’s oldest banks. “Monte dei Paschi was founded in Italy. It was considered the biggest financial centre of the country. Banking had been active since the 12th century. There were quite a few banking houses in Western Europe. The bank was engaged in a kind of “charity”. Anyone who needed money could borrow it by leaving a valuable thing as collateral, which would cover a third of the debt. If the person could not pay back the money on time, his property was sold at auction. Later the bank was rebuilt several times. Today it has some 20 branches throughout the country.

Pharmacy in Tallinn

The exact date of the oldest pharmacy in Tallinn is unknown. However on the Town Hall Square it appeared approximately in 1422. During six centuries a dozen of its managers succeeded. The most famous of them was Johann Belavari – chemist and doctor. For more than a hundred years Johann’s descendants rented the pharmacy. It was not until the end of the 17th century that Johann managed to purchase the pharmacy from the town. It was passed on as an inheritance. In 1911, the heirs were forced to sell their ancestor’s business. The chemist’s shop was re-opened in 2003 after a lengthy refurbishment and began to take on a new colour.

Watch factory in Switzerland

Little is known about the factory. It is known, for example, that in 1466, Humbertus Halle, founder of the factory, was allowed to move to Geneva. It was there that he took up the watchmaking business. It was subsequently passed on to his son. For many centuries, the descendants of Humbertus Halle ran the clock factory. In 1826 the brand name was officially registered and the factory moved to Lachaux-de-Fonds. Today a third of the city’s population are employed by the company. Karl Marx himself had even mentioned it in his work “Kapital”. There he spoke of the division of labour in the clock factory. At the end of the 19th century, the manufacture began to regard the United States of America as a major market for its products. The most famous clock was created in 1939. It had a rotating dial, on which were written the names of the cities overflown by the pilot Harry Trueman.

It was he who commissioned this product. The clock could easily be used to calculate the time zone change. Harry Truman liked the watch so much that he wore it constantly, never taking it off. Even when he became President of the United States, he still wore his favourite watch. It can now be found in a museum.